Customer Reviews

Heart Zones Cycling: The Avid Cyclist's Guide to Riding Faster and Farther (Heart Zones)

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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was really disappointed with this. I was looking for a book that would explain the use of heart rate zones and help me use it to improve my cycling. This is a 12 step program to zen cycling! It is overly complex and involved way too much "process." Almost every paragraph introduces a new idiosynchratic piece of jargon - microcycles, mesocycles, and macrocycles - give me a break! This book outlines an entire plan without detailing the plan! You must make a goal and write it down. You must decide whether you want to use "threshold" heart rate or maximum heart rate. You must calculate your zones. You must then periodize your training and then personalize the periodization (or maybe you personalize first and then periodize). It is simply too evangelical to be of any use unless you buy into the zen program. For someone who has a specific goal, this book may help you achieve it. If you just want to be a better cyclist, this is a waste of time.

Years ago I read Sally Edwards' first book on heart rate monitor training. Great book. Very helpful. However I loaned it to the wrong person and never got it back. So years later I buy a slighter fancier heart rate monitor to replace my bare bones one that died. I thought it would be a good idea to get this new book which is specific to cycling and which I expected would be updated with all the latest thinking from the last decade of research. Instead I discovered a poorly edited book which is unclear about its target audience. I expected a book for avid cyclists, not people who would need words like drafting and cadence defined in the glossary (which looks like a bunch of filler pages). Now that a whole industry has grown up around coaching amateur and recreational athletes (runners, cyclists, triathletes), this book seems more interested in recruiting customers for Ms. Edward's business than in sharing the up-to-date information. My recommendation is to try one of her earlier titles and hope for better luck. Heart rate training IS worthwhile, even if it seems a bit complicated at first, but this is not Sally Edwards at her best.

This book was a fairly interesting read, although I don't think it adds much that hasn't been said elsewhere. I've read a couple books about cycling and heart rate zone based training. This is a fairly simple and decent overview. It just seems a little light compared to the rest. Still, it covers all the basics. I recommend finding it at the local library. You can get through it in a couple of days.

Heart Zones Cycling takes you from an absolute beginning level and shows you how you can make the most of your time in the saddle. It'll teach you how to develop a training plan to be fitter, Lose weight, or race if that's what your going after. I raced 25 years ago but I wish I had this knowledge back then. It has already helped me learn how to build a strong base on which I can progressively improve my bike riding speed & endurance. So instead of winging it like I did in the past, get this book and learn how to do it right.

This book is a great resource for all types of training! The information provided within will motivate you to use a heart rate monitor to track your heart zones. The result will help your performance or help you reach your goals!

Written by the people who walk and run the talk this book has transformed my cycling plan from going hard, going hard again then feeling unwell to now becoming more educated, healthy and faster for longer. I will see how I go at the world indoor track championships for the next 3 years in Sydney to see the fruits of this wise book.

this is a great book. I am getting ready for an olympic tri. Great for work outs